Letter to the Editor

December 3, 2012

Editor:

This letter is in response to the person in Saturday’s VENT column who wondered “why we never hear of the LDS having free meals for the needy and homeless on Thanksgiving and Christmas.”  

Probably the best answer that could be given is that the LDS church is very quietly busy 365 days a year giving help to the needy and the homeless.  

From 1985 to 2011, the church rendered assistance in 179 countries totalling $1.4 billion.  The church has provided 63,377 tons of food, 14,345 tons of

medical supplies, 93, 196 tons of clothing and 11.1 million hygiene, newborn, and school kits around the world.

After every major disaster, the church has quietly stepped in - with materials and people - to provide assistance.  

The LDS church has 143 storehouses where people of all faiths can get temporary help with food needs.  The church helps people - of all ages, races, religions - with getting jobs at 327 employment resource centers. 

Additionally the church’s top humanitarian initiatives include clean water, vision treatment, wheelchair provision, neonatal resuscitation, and disaster relief. Other initiatives include immunizations, family enrichment programs, and family food production. In 2008, LDS Humanitarian Services provided aid to 3.3 million people in 122 countries, and since 1985 help has been given to 23 million people.

So, dear Vent reader, wonder no more; the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are very very busy indeed.  They donate their time, their money, their efforts to help people - of all ages, religions, nationalities, creeds.  And, it is not just done on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Come join us in our efforts to make the world a better place.  I think you will be amazed at what the LDS church really does after all.

Loni Hackworth